Last Fight
by LadyOfWinds
Summary: Cloud fights his last fight, but is not alone in doing so.


_Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy, I wouldn't be posting this here for free._

The rain was beating down heavily, turning the sky into a black void and making it almost impossible to see more than six feet across. A lone figure sat underneath an overhanging boulder in a desperate attempt to shelter himself from the rain. Slender hands were curled around the hilt of a big broadsword. Blond spikes, usually styled in a fashion that defied gravity now hung limply in his face. The way he held himself suggested exhaustion yet a fire burned in bright blue eyes.

Cloud carefully poked his head out from underneath the bolder. Even with mako-enhanced eyes The Wasteland was hidden from him by the close curtain of rain. Swearing softly the blond retracted his head. He had to think, come up with a plan. He may not be able to know where his opponents were in regard to him unless they came close enough, but neither would they. Good, maybe he could use that to his advantage.

A ghastly sound pierced the air, momentarily overcoming the sound of the thundering rain until it died away. They were close, too close, and most likely searching for him. The ex-SOLDIER momentarily closed his eyes as he let his head fall back against the side of the boulder. Lips formed into a grimace when he heard other creatures answer the call. If Cloud would have to imagine the sounds of hell, this would be it.

Moving careful as not to make even the smallest of sounds he left his hiding spot. If he were to stay there and they found him he would be a sitting duck. His face was derived of any expression, just as he had learned back in his days at SOLDIER.

The vague outlines of one of the Bahamuts he had spotted earlier could be seen through the torrent for a moment before disappearing again. A surprised gasp left his lips as suddenly a Shadow Creeper tore past. Appearing and disappearing in the rain. Instantly, the blond tightened his grip on his sword. Two more Shadow Creepers passed him. They were no more than rapidly moving forms against the rain, running in and out of his line of vision. He knew they had noticed him and were waiting for the right moment to attack. As if on cue one of the Creepers leapt from behind the curtain of rain. Its eyes glowed with bestial ferocity and lethal fangs shimmered momentarily.

Cloud ducked to the side, narrowly missing the powerful jaws as they snapped shut. With one swift move he turned and sliced the beast into two. Effectively killing it. The ex-SOLDIER barely had enough time to blink for the other two Shadow Creepers lunged for his throat. Only to find themselves dead next to the first mere moments later.

A slight shiver ran down Cloud's body. He had no idea how long he had already been here but the cold was slowly but surely making its way into his joints. Combined with his weariness and limited sight he knew that, were he to be confronted with anything bigger and more ferocious than a pack of Shadow Creepers he would not live to tell. It was a sad faith, but an inevitable one seeing as he didn't have a single clue as to where exactly he was. Making the option of fleeing back to Edge an unlikely one. More so since he had lost his bike during a previous attack, and with the bike any materia he had with him. Calling for help wasn't an option either. He had tried already, several times. No reception. His only hope was for the rain to clear up and the monsters to magically disappear. Right, like that would ever happen.

No. The only thing he could do was to take down as many monsters as he could before his weariness would cause him to make a fatal mistake. His last.

Mako-enhanced ears searched the silence for the faintest of sounds in order to locate his enemy, the droning sound of rain having already become unnoticeable. The blond's head shot up when thunder suddenly boomed, quickly followed by streaks of lightning, momentarily illuminating the Wasteland. Due to this he was able to spot the pack of Shadow Creepers heading towards him. The lightning had saved him, for now at least. The small pack existed of seven Shadow Creepers and they all lunged at Cloud at the same moment.

Were it not for his mako-enhanced reflexes the blond would have been torn to shreds. He dropped himself to the ground just in time, rolling away and avoiding their giant frothed muzzles. He swiftly killed one of the hounds as he lay on the ground, driving The Fusion Sword deep into its skull before hastily scrambling upright. Two more lunged at him. With not enough time to swing his sword and attack he raised it up in front of him, using it as a shield against sharp killing teeth. The two Creepers retreated, joining the other four as they slowly started circling him. He couldn't escape. Blue eyes narrowed in concentration as he followed the movements of the beasts whilst pale, slender fingers undid one of the individual swords that made up The Fusion Sword. Now with a blade in each hand Cloud waited.

The Creepers growled deeply, a sound of impending doom, saliva dripping from their jaws. Suddenly the thunder boomed again, lightning momentarily illuminating the bare lands for a second. Right at that moment Cloud lunged towards the hounds who had been startled by the sudden sound. Before the beasts could even think about counterattacking tree had already been felled. Infuriated by the slaying of their kin the remaining tree grew bolder and more careless in their attacks, making it easy for the ex-SOLDIER to kill them.

A sudden shiver ran down Cloud's spine as he felt eyes on him. A deep, low growl filled the air, causing the ground underneath his feet to vibrate. Slowly he turned around, knowing what stood behind him. The Bahamut SIN's red eyes shone brightly in the dark as he came face to face with the beast. A deep breath was drawn as he recognized his harbinger of death. Maybe if he wouldn't have been so cold and tired from fighting all those smaller monsters and wouldn't have lost his materia he would have stood a chance. But not now. That thought was strengthened as a Bahamut and a Bahamut Fury appeared besides the SIN.

Taking another deep breath Cloud reassembled The Fusion Sword before gripping the hilt tightly with both hands.

If anyone else besides the blond himself would have been there they would have seen that, as he ran towards the beasts, four spectres appeared behind him, swords at the ready.

In his last fight, Zack, Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal aided the blond until his neck was broken by a powerful blow from one of the Bahamut, guiding him towards the Lifestream.

_AN: Small one-shot inspired by the song 'Citizen Soldier' by 3 Doors Down. I feel bad for killing Cloud. And yes, I do know that Genesis isn't actually dead, that he has been taken by Deepground, but for the sake of this fic he is dead. _

_It feels good to write a more darker fic again instead of all the humour I've been writing due to a friend's influence._


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